The Secret Lives of Parents
by Kairyn Deliae
Summary: No child ever knows the truth about their parents lives. Not without asking. And none of the YYH boys did that did they? What happens when a mysterious demon brings these secrets to the forefront? A different history of the parents of YYH including Shiori, Atsuko, and Hina. Pairings on the side include: Kur/Hi, Yus/Kei, Kwu/Yu, and a smidgen of others.
1. Prologue

My eyes widened some at the strange insect sitting on the outer windowsill of my house. "Oh Dear…" I breathed, knowing already it was far too wrong for the natural world. At least this natural world. It was too big. A cross between a large mosquito and a beetle but not even that was entirely correct. It was so incredibly hard to describe. But it wasn't right. I didn't recognize what kind of insect it could be but I recognized where it was from.

I stared at the bug for a moment before quickly turning off the stove and hurrying out of the kitchen. Something was clearly going on. Grabbing my purse I left the house and locked the door behind me. I couldn't help but wonder where my son had run off to all of a sudden. I was worried for him but I knew he was smart enough to stay out of most trouble. He was a good boy like that. There was someone else who wasn't so able to stay out of trouble that I needed to check on.

My worry grew as I saw quite a large number of people looking very ill. Practically blue with a strange red glaze over their eyes. They were being controlled. That much was obvious. I wasn't sure by what they were being controlled; it could be any number of things but I was willing to bet it had to do with all those insects that I could see buzzing around. The mind controlled people seemed to be looking for someone and weren't paying me hardly any attention at all. But I decided that wasn't reason to dilly-dally and hurried through the streets to the apartment I was looking for.

The door was locked and I let out a huff of annoyance before crouching down and using a hairpin from my bag to pick the lock as fast as I could. I ran into the apartment, dropping my bag and shoes in the entry way as I did so. "Atsuko?" I called as I started scouring the somewhat messy house. "Atsuko, are you here?"

There wasn't any answer but I found the younger woman asleep in bed and sighed some. "You really need to stop partying so much," I muttered before going to the kitchen and starting up the coffee pot. Atsuko needed to wake up and coffee tended to do the trick but if it didn't I wasn't above pouring some cold water on her head. Thankfully, I didn't have to resort to that and a few minutes later Atsuko came out of her room yawning loudly.

"Shiori? What're you doing here?" she asked looking confused and still half asleep.

"Take a look out of the window," I said nodding to the nearest one.

"Hm?" She blinked at me but went to do as I said and stared out of the window for a moment before jumping back. "What the hell is that?" she demanded, pointing at a group of bugs that were hovering near the window.

"Some sort of demonic insect is my guess I don't recognized the specific type though. They've turned half the town into zombies and I'm sure it'll be spreading. I thought I'd check on you," I supplied as I handed her a mug of coffee fixed the way she liked it. "I'm a little worried though… I haven't seen Shuichi all day and that's not like him. I hope he hasn't gotten caught up in all of this."

Atsuko looked over at me with wide eyes before laughing. "You worry too much! If it were really that bad we'd have heard about it by now," she claimed before going to sit down on the sofa.

"I doubt that. We aren't active. They'd only call on us in a supreme emergency," I pointed out. "I'm sure they have their current detectives working on it. They'd better be at least. There is a serious amount of rage out there. It's… actually rather disconcerting."

"Stop using such big words," Atsuko muttered. "I'll have to start fining you for every word over three syllables you use if you don't cut that out…"

I sighed a bit and habitually started picking up the apartment. "It would do you good to expand your vocabulary. Where's your son anyway?"

"Oh, I'm sure he's out with Keiko or something," she answered dismissively. I felt my annoyance peak but bit my tongue. It wasn't my place to rail on her for how her and her son got along. We sat down in the living room, sipping our coffee for quite a while; keeping an eye on the number of insects and possessed humans we could see from the window.

Finally, after almost an hour Atsuko turned to me. "Have you heard anything from the others?"

I shook my head. "Of course not. They have no need to contact us," I said before taking a sip of coffee.

Silence fell over us again. Apparently we were no better at talking than we were fifteen years ago. "How are you dealing with that curse?" Atsuko asked after a few more long moments.

"It's been broken somehow. Just about killed me and then it was suddenly gone. I have no idea what happened. But I can feel my strength returning. Far slower than I would like but there's not much I can do about that," I replied. "I've thought about going to spirit world and finding out what happened but… I've actually grown somewhat attached to the life I'm leading."

Atsuko laughed a bit at that. "Well, that's not something I would have expected. You were almost as unhappy here as Yahiko was."

I laughed some. "I doubt there is a single demon less happy about being in the human world than Yahiko was. I've never even really hated it here; I just resented that I was stuck here. There is a difference, you know," I pointed out from over the rim of my cup.

Atsuko hummed a bit and pushed her hair out of her face some with her free hand. "Any idea who the newest blood is that Koenma's found? I heard our replacement's retired already."

"Mm, spirit detective turn over is really rather quick. Only a few years and then they're shelved," I mused aloud as I swirled the coffee in my cup without spilling any over the edge. "Truly it could be anyone who's spiritually aware enough and to be honest it really isn't our business. I suppose you could ask if were bothering you though."

Atsuko smiled widely at that. "Why would I do something silly like ask?"

"I suppose politeness wouldn't seem a good enough reason for you?" I asked eyeing her grin carefully.

"We should find out who it is," she said eyes sparkling in a way I'd come to realize was dangerous. "It'd be a great distraction. It's not like it really matters anyway. And it'll get us back into the swing of things."

I raised an eyebrow at that. "Why on earth would we need to 'get back into the swing of things' as you put it?" I asked in confusion. "Are you planning something? Because if you are… stop. You're bad at it."

Atsuko gave me a bland look. "I'm just saying I haven't even used my abilities in years and I know you haven't either. It's exercise."

"You hate exercise," I pointed out. "It's far more likely you're just bored."

Atsuko shrugged. "That too. Come on, Shiori! It could be loads of fun! Sneaking around and being detectives again! Doesn't it sound great?" she asked, eyes growing even wider. "I haven't done anything like that since I got pregnant with Yusuke."

"Technically, I was never a detective. I was a 'consultant'," I pointed out. "And no, it doesn't sound all that great. It sounds like it could lead to serious problems for us. Specifically me. Why are you so interested in all of this anyway?"

Atsuko attempted to paint a look of innocence over her face but I could see through that in a second. "Alright… what is it you really want?" I asked after several minutes of waiting for her to answer my first question and not getting that answer. "Or want to say?"

"Well…" she started, drawing the word out almost annoyingly long. "You remember when I called you right? About what happened to Yusuke?"

"Of course. You were sobbing so hard I almost couldn't understand you. And then you called back a few days later all happy again," I said. "And then he was brought back to life. You never did explain why though."

"I asked Botan and she said because they hadn't expected him to die in that car accident," she supplied putting her cup on the ground beside her. "So Koenma gave him his life back. I was still a bit… upset and wasn't paying close enough attention but Keiko helped him come back. They haven't said anything about it to me yet but Yusuke was gone to some 'camp' recently and I think he might have been training," she explained, whispering the last bit as if it were a great secret.

"I see, so you think that Yusuke is the new detective and what you really want is confirmation," I surmised. "I don't suppose you would ever consider sitting down with your son and having a conversation about it would you?" I asked glancing out of the window to see there were still bugs buzzing around.

Atsuko sighed audibly. "We're not good at talking," she said.

I gave a single laugh at that. "That, I believe, is an understatement."

Atsuko made a sour face. "Oh please, you're one to talk with all the secrets you keep."

"Secrets are dangerous. You have to share them carefully," I pointed out. "Use your brain please. I can't just go around telling everyone what I am."

Atsuko sighed and got up to go pour herself another cup of coffee. Despite the understanding that we'd gained years ago we were still butting heads over certain things. She was just too headstrong and impulsive. Hadn't changed a bit since she was a teen. "Oh!" Atsuko exclaimed and I looked over to see her looking out of the window. "The bugs are dying."

"Good. I told you they'd have someone taking care of it," I said getting up to put my own mug in the sink. "Now I should probably go. I need to start dinner. Hopefully, Shuichi will be home soon… I'd hate to think something's happened to him…"

"You worry about that boy too much," Atsuko accused as I went to pull my shoes on in the entryway.

I fought against the urge to roll my eyes. "No, I worry just the right amount. You can never worry too much," I replied. "Though I understand that's a concept you've never quite grasped…"

"So touchy… Sometimes I wish you hadn't stuck around," she muttered before downing the last of her mug.

"Where exactly was I supposed to go? I couldn't survive in Makai and I'm not exactly popular in Reikai," I pointed out. "Anyway, if you really wish to go snooping around in Koenma's vaults or something I certainly can't stop you. I would, however, advise against it. Just because you used to do things for them doesn't mean the Reikai will overlook wrong doing. They are rather vindictive that way."

Atsuko snorted some. "Like you're one to talk about being vindictive."

I ignored the comment. "Goodbye, Atsuko." I didn't wait for a reply and just left the apartment to make my way back to my own house. I couldn't take being in the woman's company for too long or I might have had to hurt her. We just were too dissimilar to stay within close quarters for very long. At least, not without a common enemy to focus on. I glanced around at the different humans as I made my way home. Most were on the ground passed out and some were groaning in obvious discomfort but none seemed terribly injured. There were some dead bugs scattered around and the police were swarming to be sure the 'riots' were now contained. It wasn't terribly hard to slip past whatever people were between me and my home. They weren't interested in stopping me anyway.

By the time I had dinner ready and on the table, Shuichi came in looking tired and unusually disheveled. "Shuichi? Are you alright?" I asked, even as he started straight for the stairs.

"Yes, Mother. I'm fine. I just have to clean up a little before dinner. I'll be right back," he said.

I frowned some at his unusual behavior before deciding to brush it off. If he'd gotten involved in one of those controlled human riots or something I suppose it would account for the scrapes and oddness of his appearance. Circumstances being what they were, I brushed it off. Clearly, he was fine now if nothing else. Perhaps I'd ask again later, though I doubted it. What was the point if it wouldn't happen again?


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: **I didn't mention this in the first chapter but I will here. The POV is going to be changing, hopefully every chapter but I'm going to avoid doing it in the middle of the chapter to cut down on breaking the flow. Of course there will be some chapters in the same POV in a row but that's all going to depend on where we're at in the story.

* * *

"Hey, Shiori!" I called sticking my head half into the kitchen window. "You will not believe what's happened!"

The once demoness paused where she was slicing some sort of meat that looked far too freshly killed and I suppressed a shudder. Her eyebrow went up and turned back to her cooking. "What is it, Kuwabara? Did something fluffy get away from you? I won't help you catch another stray cat."

I frowned. "That was once! And Kazuma was crying buckets when his kitten ran off. What was I supposed to do?"

She rolled her amethyst eyes. "Get him another perhaps. I don't know. Shuichi was always more fond of plants than pets. Rather good actually. You know how I feel about small fluffy things and the messes they leave behind…"

I frowned even more but nodded. "Uh huh, you're a regular carnivore… but seriously though, something amazing has happened!" I said with a grin. She'd never guess this time. In the twenty years we'd known each other she'd always known everything first but this time I knew something she didn't.

"Well, it can't possibly be that you've had another child," she said glancing at me. "You're nearly all grey now, you know."

I glared some. "Not all of us are vanity incarnate…" I muttered. "Besides, Hana says my grey is flattering and very dignified."

"Yes, well she did marry you, she's prone to those delusions," Shiori replied as she threw the slices of meat into a pan on the stove. "But since you seem so excited about something, why not tell me so that Shuichi doesn't come home and find strange men poking their head through our window… and standing in his rose bed."

I blinked some and looked down. Sure enough, I hadn't even realized I was squashing several smaller plants under my size tens and crushing a few roses against the side of the house. "Oh… oops…"

"Get in here already. Shuichi will not appreciate you damaging our garden. He spends hours on it," Shiori said gesturing to the door that led from the kitchen to the porch. I nodded some and got out of the flower bed to go inside, being sure to take my shoes off before stepping in to keep all the dirt out. I'd learned early on that Shiori was a neat freak. Something that she kept even after the last of her demon energy faded.

I glanced around the pristine house and shook my head. "You must have passed your weirdness onto Shuichi… this place is way too tidy," I muttered. Kazuma never was able to keep his room this neat. True he was better now that he was a bit older but Shiori would have a conniption if she walked into our house and saw the bit of clutter that was around.

Shiori glared a bit though it lacked most of the heat from when we'd first met. She'd mellowed quite a bit over the years. "There is nothing wrong with things being clean and put away."

I held up my hands immediately. "No, no of course not! But… you've got a teenage son… that's sort of supposed to mean there's a lot of mess," I reasoned.

"Some children are more sensible than others," Shiori said. "Now, do continue with the reason why you're here…"

I grinned widely at that. "Alright! I've got it on very good authority that my son and Atsuko's kid are on a mission for Koenma! They're following in our footsteps! It's so wonderful!" Just the idea of my son doing such important work and embracing his psychic abilities brought tears to my eyes. Manly, tough tears of… manliness… and testosterone…

"Yes, Atsuko's already mentioned something like that," Shiori said absently.

I felt my face fall. "Whhhaaaattt? You already knew?" It wasn't fair! I never knew anything before her! What the hell was up with that!

Shiori nodded some. "Yes, Atsuko's been gushing for weeks about Yusuke being brought back from the dead to save the world and all that," she said as she started slicing carrots.

I huffed and crossed my arms across my chest. "That's just not fair. Why didn't she say anything to me?" I demanded. "It's our sons doing all of this."

Shiori shrugged. "You'd have to ask her. But I'd expect it'd have something to do with the fact that her black book was destroyed when her apartment went up in flames a while back," she said. "The only reason I've spoken to her lately is because she's been pestering me to break into Koenma's record room to check in on Yusuke. You'd think after eavesdropping on him the second time she'd learn it's easier just to ask Koenma straight to his face. Less jail time that way…"

"It's not honorable anyway," I stated. "Has she stopped drinking?" Atsuko's drinking was the reason I'd stopped talking with her in the first place. I hadn't wanted a bad influence around Shizuru.

Shiori sighed and shook her head. "No. She seems to be cutting back now that she has Yusuke's life to snoop on but I doubt it will last. Might I ask how you came to know about your son's little escapade if not through Atsuko?" Shiori actually looked a bit curious for once and I grinned.

"They left a video tape in the VCR!" I told her. "Something about an Ice Maiden being held captive for her tears. They're off to save her now."

Shiori hummed a bit but didn't look up from where she was cutting vegetables. I studied her for a moment. She did look better than the last time I'd seen her. Her color wasn't as pale and the bags under her eyes were gone. Her face still had a bit more roundness than it had when we'd first met but since I still sensed her to be human I supposed that made sense. She looked all around healthier and her energy was stronger. Though it was still kind of strange to see her in lighter colors and a less ominous outfit, I could still see the demon lurking somewhere deep inside. "You look good. I'm glad that curse was broken."

She paused mid slice and looked up at me, seemingly surprised. Slowly she smiled some and turned back to what she was doing. "I am too. Though I still am not sure how it happened… Koenma wouldn't have done it. His father banned him from interfering…"

I scratched the side of my head with one finger. She had a point. We'd never managed to find a counter curse and Enma had been adamant about Koenma not doing anything to break it for us. "Maybe that Nori guy finally kicked it himself," I suggested. "That was supposed to break it too right?"

Shiori nodded absently though she didn't seem convinced. "You have any of your powers back yet?" I asked curiously.

She shook her head. "No, I'm even having trouble just pinpointing energy signatures. It's getting better though. It's just a matter of time at this point."

"Mm, you gonna tell Shuichi when you start getting your powers back?" I asked. Shiori paused, looking a bit apprehensive. "Oh, come on… when the appliances explode for no reason, he's going to be a bit suspicious, don't you think?"

Shiori rolled her eyes. "Are you still upset about the toaster?"

"It was a great toaster!" I told her, a bit of fury welling up at the mention of it.

"You should just be glad that it was the toaster and not your cat," she said. "I wasn't really focusing on anything at the time."

I blanched at the very thought. "You're a bit sick… you know that right?

She chuckled some and shook her head. "You forget so easily how we met, Kuwabara."

I gave her a dull glare. "Trust me… I'm not going to forget how we met. It gave me nightmares for a year…" I shuddered some and directed my thoughts away from that mission quickly. None of us had escaped that one unscathed. I just counted my blessings nobody had died. Well, nobody important anyway.

"Well, if you're just here to tell me what I already know, you should probably get going," she said pointing to the door with the tip of her knife.

"Aww, not even going to offer me a taste of your food?" I asked, glancing in the pan. I did miss her cooking sometimes. It was surprisingly good considering she was born and raised where cooking food was often optional.

She sighed and shook her head. "A taste for you means no dinner for me and Shuichi, you pig," she said though without much venom.

"Oh, come on! That's not-" We both stiffened and I shut my mouth with a snap. Shiori's eyes narrowed and the grip she had on her knife tightened as I curled my hands into a fist. I did not like that energy that was hovering just outside her home. I looked out of the window I'd first stuck my head through and saw a tiny demon with bat wings and wild green hair.

Shiori followed my gaze and frowned before opening the window. The little demon flew forward, carrying a scroll as big as he was. Without a word he dropped it and took off before either me or Shiori could attempt to catch it. I snatched the scroll and unrolled it. I scowled at the intricate demonic writing before handing it to Shiori. "I can't read it."

She nodded and put the knife down within easy reach as she took the parchment from me. Her eyes scanned the paper several times, her face growing darker and darker each time. "What is it?" I asked, definitely not liking the way she was glaring at that paper. It should be bursting into flames with the amount of hatred that she was directing it's way. I was suddenly glad that she didn't have her powers currently or I was certain that something would have exploded.

"Katashi."

I felt my blood run ice cold. "He's dead," I said before I could stop myself.

Violet eyes flashed nearly red in fury. "Apparently not," she hissed. "And he has some rather… choice things to say and promises to make…" The paper crumpled in her fist.

"Revenge?" I guessed.

"Naturally."

"We have to tell Koenma," I said turning to go do so.

She grabbed me by the arm. "No!" she snapped. "He's already said he'll kill our families if we do. Besides, you know Koenma will want to send in Yusuke and Kazuma. They're his new team. We can't risk it. We can handle Katashi."

"How? We don't even know where Yahiko is and Naoki is dead!" Shiori flinched and I instantly felt terrible for saying that. Naoki's death had hit everyone hard but most of all Shiori. It was low and dishonorable to have said something like that to her. Just because she was a demon didn't mean she should have her husband's death thrown in her face. "Shiori… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say it like that…"

Shiori let my arm go and shook her head. "It's alright… and you do have a point," she said softly as she looked off to the side. "But until we know more about what he's planning we shouldn't run to Koenma. We can't risk him following through with his threat."

"Then what should we do?" I asked in confusion. Planning was really more her forte than mine. I was much better at the direct approach.

Shiori's eyes flashed dangerously and again I was glad her powers hadn't returned yet. "We'll just have to gather our strength and be ready for when he attacks. He doesn't have the best patience in the three worlds. Sooner or later he'll be fed up trying to scare us and will act foolishly."

"So we're just going to wait?" I knew I made a face at that. It was just such an unpleasant idea.

"Of course not, don't be stupid," Shiori said as she turned the stove on and burned the parchment. "We'll be preparing."


	3. Chapter 2

"This sucks… I wasn't even doing this the first time around!" I yelled up at the tree that Shiori was lounging in as she fiddled with some demon trinket or whatever the hell she was doing. My temper rose like only she could make it do. I was sweaty, tired, hungry, and she looked as prim and proper as ever. I hated it! She'd dragged me out here yesterday and hadn't given me a break since. "SHIORI! COME DOWN HERE YOU BITCH!"

Violet eyes glanced down at me but remained cold. So much for having softened up over the years… every day she seemed more and more like her old self. "Come up and make me," she replied before turning back to what she was doing. I screamed in frustration and grasped around on the ground until I found a rock. I flung it at her but missed her head and hit the tree trunk beside her instead. "If you practiced more you wouldn't have missed me, dear…" she said.

I grit my teeth and punched the ground. She sounded so polite but damn it if that didn't get on my nerves. Part of why whatever Yusuke yelled and ranted about to me never fazed me was because it was at least an honest emotion! Shiori NEVER yelled. It wasn't at all natural! "You know I don't do fighting, you bitch! I thought we had an understanding, damn it!"

"You may not have fought before but you may need to now. So, learning how to channel your energy into offensive attacks would be useful," she said as if she were discussing the weather.

"Are you two fighting again?" an exasperated voice asked. I looked to the left and saw Kuwabara stumbling through the nearby brush. "I thought you two got over it…"

"Well, if someone wasn't such a slave driving emotionless bitch things would go a lot better," I snapped glaring at the once demoness in the tree.

Kuwabara sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "How'd you even get up there, Shiori?" he asked.

"That's a secret," she said lightly.

"God, I hate it when you say that…" I grumbled. It was her standby answer for damn near everything and it only took a few times hearing it to grow utterly infuriated. That and her inability to answer questions with a straight answer most of the time.

"You hate a great many things, dear. It's not at all healthy," she replied as she held up the pendant she had to the light. "Hmm, there's a crack in the stone…" she murmured, probably just to provoke a question she wouldn't answer.

Kuwabara blinked. "What is that?" I fell back against the ground. He'd actually fallen for it. Again… When would he LEARN?!

Shiori hummed a bit, as if surprised he'd heard her. "This? Oh… nothing important. Just a little toy to keep me entertained while Atsuko trains," she replied before tucking the red pendant into a pocket of the black trench coat she was wearing. I hadn't seen her wear that thing in years and now that she had it on again she seemed more like herself than I really wanted her to be. "By the way, Atsuko… didn't you send your son to Sarayashiki?"

I blinked, rather surprised by the sudden change in topic. "Uh… yeah," I said warily. Somehow this would come back to something I had to do. I just knew it. It was a lead in for something. "But so does Kuwabara…"

"Mm, yes, rather ironic actually," she said lightly.

There were several minutes of silence but she didn't elaborate at all. I sighed in annoyance. I'd have to take the bait. That was the only way to move this all forward. "What's ironic, Shiori?"

She looked surprised. "Hm? Oh, it's nothing, dear. I'm just a little surprised that both of you decided to send your sons to Takanaka's school," she said casually.

"Ta… Takanaka's?" I echoed in surprise. "He's still working there?!"

"He's gotta be like… ninety something by now!" Kuwabara said, eyes huge in disbelief.

"Mm, now Kuwabara… you know better than to judge based on looks alone. I'm surprised you didn't know already, Atsuko. I heard you say that several teachers showed up at Yusuke's wake. I would have thought he'd be among them," she said as she crossed one leg over the other. "If he didn't show up that was very rude of him. Especially considering his nature."

"Oh… right but… with his powers taken back how hasn't he aged by now?" Kuwabara asked as he scratched his temple with one finger.

"Mm, not everyone ages as you do Kuwabara," Shiori said with a deceptively pleasant look on her face. "Besides, it's only been fifteen years. It's not like he would suddenly start showing his true age. He'd only age that much since he's been living as a human."

I frowned a little. "So. Like yourself then?" I asked dryly. From the slight twitch of Shiori's finger I could tell I managed a hit.

She gave a pleasant enough laugh but I knew it was empty. "Yes… something like that. Luckily, I'm already in the process of reversing that unfortunate condition in myself. Takanaka however is not so lucky. If you truly wish for us to put up any sort of resistance for old friends… it might be worth it to reverse Takanaka's condition as well," she said glancing at Kuwabara.

He blinked, looking utterly lost. "Uh… how are we supposed to do that? I mean, his powers and everything were taken away as a punishment from Enma… It's not like we can reverse it like your curse."

"No, but we wouldn't be the one who would have to reverse it now would we?" she asked with a sly grin.

Kuwabara still looked a little lost. I sighed and glared at him. How had he become an accountant? I mean really? "She wants us to get Enma to do it," I told him. "Which would be a no. I'm not going to him and asking for that," I added, glaring at Shiori. It was one thing to complain to Koemna. It was another to go to his father.

Shiori sighed a bit. "Yes, I understand your hesitation… after all, Enma is rather vindictive… and you never were his favorite…"

I grit my teeth to try and keep my temper. "You are such a bitch…"

"So you've said," she replied giving me a grin that just dared me to do it. "And it's quite rude to continue to say it over and over again."

"Nevermind Takanaka… what about Yahiko?" I asked, deftly avoiding the obvious bait she was leaving. I was not going to let her manipulate me this time. "I'm sure as hell not going looking for him. We'd need to get to the demon world to even begin to look and I'm not going there…" I'd nearly gotten eaten the last time I was anywhere near the Demon realm. I wasn't eager to go through that again.

Shiori hummed a bit. "I will handle finding Yahiko… once I am strong enough to return to Makai. It will take some time, of course. My powers are still depressingly absent from my life."

"So're morals," I muttered.

"Atsuko, dear, your charm is lacking today," Shiori commented lightly. "I have very good morals just so you know. I am just aware of when morals get in the way. Namely, whenever dealing with demons."

Kuwabara sighed some and rubbed the back of his head. "Can we focus guys? I'm supposed to meet Hana for lunch today…"

I groaned some and put a hand to my stomach. "Lunch sounds amazing…" I didn't think I'd actually eaten since Shiori dragged me out here. I might be used to skipping meals but I didn't usually do it and work out with a demon running the program.

Shiori looked over at me before glancing in another direction. "I think perhaps… until my powers return I will spend some time fixing up the Manor. I left triplets in charge of watching it for me but I doubt they left all the traps and wards in place," she said casually. "Once my powers return, provided Katashi doesn't make his move before then, I will go and find Yahiko."

I almost winced at the idea of Katashi attacking without either of our demon backups or Naoki being around. It would not turn out well at all. He'd barely been beaten the first time. "Hopefully he'll do the whole 'make them suffer' thing to buy us time…" It wasn't much to look forward to but every little bit would help.

"Mm, I was rather hoping for him to be bluffing to be honest," Shiori said.

"Yeah but what are the chances of that?" I asked sarcastically.

"Rather slim," Shiori admitted. "That is why the faster you deal with the Takanaka issue the better our chances are at surviving this current crisis."

I sighed some and rubbed my forehead. "I need a drink…"

"You drink too much," Kuwabara replied dryly.

"Shut up, I'm a grown woman I can do what I want," I replied. He hadn't grown up raising a son as a single parent. I should be able to do what I wanted without enduring his high and mighty preachy attitude. At least Shiori never did that. She might aggravate the hell out of me but she hadn't preached about changing my life either. The occasional comment of disapproval didn't count. She didn't go on and on about it until I wanted to strangle her.

Shiori chuckled a bit and I looked over at her suspiciously. "What?"

She smiled a bit and waved her hand off to the side. "I was simply thinking about the irony here," she said lightly.

"Irony?" Kuwabara echoed, looking as lost as I felt.

"Mm, yes. From the way you two act you never would have guessed that your sons would turn out to be best friends," she said with a smile. "And from the way I hear you describe their relationship I would definitely consider them to be that at the least."

I blinked a bit and then glared. "That's not really funny, Shiori…"

She hid her smile behind her hand. "Perhaps not to you but I find it terribly amusing. Especially since you two haven't spoken for years before this little incident. The fates truly do enjoy bringing us together repeatedly. It's almost as if they have a hidden agenda."

"Oh, it's an incident now…" I said dryly. First it was a situation and now it was an incident. I almost couldn't wait until she considered it a true problem. The world would probably be on fire by that point. "And if there's anyone to talk about hidden agendas it's you little miss 'it's a secret'."

"Mm, are you still sore about that?" she asked. "You do realize that if I had told you the man was a demon you'd have sent him running before we could catch him correct?"

I glared some. "He was the first date I'd had in a year!"

"He'd have been a terrible father for Yusuke. Bashir demons are not known for their nurturing in the least," she replied lightly. "It was better the way it turned out."

"If you'd have told me he was a demon from the start I wouldn't have dated him to begin with!" I nearly yelled.

Shiori frowned a little at that. "I think everything worked out just fine as it was," she said innocently. "No lasting harm was done, you didn't marry a demon, and a dangerous criminal was sent to Reiki for sentencing."

"Oh sure... make it sound like it was no big deal to send me off to date a demon as bait," I grumbled.

Shiori chuckled some. "You would have preferred being bait some other way?"

"Shut up."


End file.
